It depends on how you are asking the question. If you have done any cooking at all, you already know that the kind of cookware you are using has a huge impact on your style. This is not to say that what cookware you use is irrelevant. Nothing could be further from the truth. Your cookware can partially determine the purposes to which you put it. Copper cookware, for example, is great for making more delicate foods because of the control it affords you over heat conductivity. The other way you could ask the question is if you are making a certain dish, say a sauce, when should you use copper cookware? The answer is you should have been using it from the beginning, especially when it comes to sauces.

You need copper cookware if you like French foods, especially. The French love copper for their cookware; in fact, one of the most popular cookware-making companies in the world is a French company, Mauviel. Cookware that is copper is also best for certain Italian foods, particularly sauces. You need copper cookware when you are ready to expand your skills as a cook to include more challenging foods. It is fine and good to know how to cook breakfast, lunch and dinner. Cooking those fine foods that make you think you are at a world-class hotel is another matter.

Choosing your cookware is not as easy as I am making it sound, of course. If you are a beginner or an amateur cook, stick to the things you know. Buy a good recipe book and try some of the easy ones. It is important to master one skill level before going on to the next – no one ever made it to the top of Everest by hiking it without ever hiking up any other mountains! Keep to your skill level in cooking before trying more difficult dishes. Get some copper cookware only when you need it.

To get the most out of your cookware, you’ll need to know a few things and have a few other things with you “on deck”, so to speak. Some of them might not be things you ordinarily think of, but you might need them nevertheless.

1) Make sure the handle of whatever cookware you use isn’t made of metal! Always be sure that the handle is made of either plastic, wood, or some other non-conductive material. If you use a metal handle, always wear oven mitts when cooking. Otherwise, you will severely burn your hand.

2) If you’re cooking with a gas stove, keep a fire extinguisher near the stove at all times when it is turned on.

3) Look into picking up a pair of aluminized kevlar gloves. I know that sounds extreme, but blacksmiths use them all the time. If you’re not too sure about using an oven (or if you’re a little clumsy), it’s the best hand protection you can find.

4) If aluminized kevlar gloves are too much, then go for the old standby: oven mitts and hot pads. There’s still nothing better than a good hot pad for picking up that small pot on the stove that’s piping and sizzling but too small for your big oven-sized gloves.

5) While we’re on the topic of hand protection, let’s talk about disposable gloves. Use these for smelly items, like raw meat before you throw it in the pan. Also, they’re great for handling pepper, garlic and onions. Vinyl has an advantage over latex in that you’re less likely to be allergic to them. (And they are fantastic at handling taffy – if you get nonstick ones, of course).

6) Grease fires: NEVER pour water on a grease fire! That will spread the grease around and make it worse. Use a large lid or pan to cover the fire and deprive it of oxygen, starving it. If that doesn’t work and the fire is still spreading, call the fire department immediate. DO NOT WAIT.

7) Be sure that the handles of your pots and pans are always turned towards the center of the stove. This way you’ll avoid accidentally jostling one. Avoid wearing long, loose sleeves; you won’t catch a handle in them. Place utensils like a spatula in the same place so you’re not constantly reaching across the stove to get at them.